Debit and credit purchase may come to Stör

By Scott Strasser, February 26 2015 —

The Students’ Union operations and finance committee will meet on Thursday, Feb. 26 to discuss whether or not to allow debit and credit payment at Stör.

Stör currently has a cash-only policy. SU vice-president operations and finance Adam Swertz said they’ve considered installing debit and credit machines before, but kept it cash-only to maintain prices and put less of a strain on their accounting department.

“We run the Stör as a service, so we’re trying to make it the cheapest convenience store it could possibly be,” Swertz said. “Bringing in credit and debit machines, there’s automatically a debit charge that would have to be associated. Then there are the maintenance fees and the fee upfront to buy them. We would have to raise our prices, which was one of the main reasons we didn’t want to do this in the past.”

But SU science representative Keean Bexte, who suggested operations and finance committee bring in debit and credit machines a few months ago, said the policy is inconvenient for students who would rather pay with debit or credit cards.

“Students don’t like carrying around cash anymore,” Bexte said. “When I’m buying a pack of gum or something, I don’t want to have to break a $20 bill to do that and then carry around three $5 bills and a toonie.”

If Stör offered debit, students who use them would pay around 25-cents extra per transaction. The 25-cent fee wouldn’t apply to those who pay in cash.

Most vendors in MacHall already apply a 25-cent fee for debit users. Bexte said students have continued to use their cards despite the fee.

“The consultation I’ve done with students so far has shown they’re excited about this idea and that 25 cents isn’t much for them to actually be able to use the Stör,” Bexte said.

Fourth-year sociology major Jen Kim has worked as a Stör cashier for three years. She agreed with Bexte that credit and debit machines would likely increase business.

“Not everyone carries cash. I know most customers would like using debit machines,” Kim said. “Lots of customers have said that we need it.”

Op-Fi committee will discuss whether to implement a six-month trial period, which could start in September.

“It’s definitely an option,” Swertz said. “That’s something we’ve tossed around. We’re looking into if that’s possible, whether Moneris [the company who would supply the machines] would do that.”

But Stör isn’t the cheapest place on campus to get your snack on. A bottle of Pepsi, a pack of Dentyne Fire and a four-pack of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups costs $6.20 when purchased together at Stör. Varsity Pharmacy, which is across the hall from Stör, charges $5.13 for the same items, paid with debit, credit or cash.